Jon Gilbert

Tom, Don't let my experiences put you off too much, all I'm saying is that for now, I'm happy with my 411 setup, and am in no rush to buy an SRa kit, if I were in a mood to upgrade then I'd certainly be considering them, but I'd check out the RF issues more. I didn't do exhaustive tests on the frequencies I was using, as I work in documentaries, I get very little set up time, so generally find frequencies that work at home then try to use them on location, I don't have the luxury of retuning everything everytime I get an RF hit.

My powering logic is based on nothing more than not liking to power units I'm not using, I didn't realise the different models had such different power usage. Thanks for putting me right on that!

I have limited experience with the SRa receivers, but it didn't leave me desperate to buy a set. I normally use 411's, but a cameraman friend had a very specific requirement for a job which needed older 411's rather than his fancy new SRa's, so we swapped for a month, and in that month I had more RF problems than I can remember having for a long time, I also didn't like that fact that you couldn't power off individual channels, on a long day, running 4 411's you know you can maximise battery life by powering down one's you're not using, you don't get that luxury with SRa's. Sure, they're small, light, have locking power connectors, etc etc, but I'm happy with my current kit for now, I breathed a sigh of relief when I got my own kit back!

http://www.7dayshop.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=777 Is a great place to get rechargeable bits and pieces, for those in Europe. Their 'good to go' range are eneloops in a different skin, I use them a lot. They have lower capacity than other available, but the fact they keep their charge for weeks easily over rides that for me.

Speak to Audio themselves, they have tech people there who can advise on the best frequencies.

Did somebody here really call Baron-Cohen 'One of the funniest people alive'? If you'd seen his early stuff in the UK on the 11 O'clock show, then yeah, he's got some talent, but all his movies are execrable, from Ali G to Bruno, awful, the lot of them!

There's absolutely no point moaning that someone who works in a different discipline earns more than you, as someone else said, if it's causing you that much upset, change jobs. If you're happy with YOUR rate for YOUR job, that's cool, if you're not, speak to the people that pay you, don't moan about it, and in the process belittle someone elses career.

I worked on a surfing doc last summer and the Sanken CS3e saved my life, I had Cos11s and lectros waterproofed on the surfers to give a sense of being in the water with them, but all the dialogue was recorded with the CS3e, both on the beach, and with me in the water with them, with a long pole, a radio tx on the boom and the recorder stashed in a peli case on the water line. Without the CS3e my life would have been a lot harder on that shoot, it's the perfect tool for the job.

I worked for 3 years on the UK show that helped start this paranormal boom, 'Most Haunted' and I did record a few things that are difficult to explain, only 2 or 3 in 3 years admittedly.

I'm a documentary recordist, or mixer depending on who's asking, and I've never had the luxury of multitrack, even though I own the kit, I know the edit will freak if they have to start mixing for me. I've always done a two channel mix, usually as simple as a lav each side and the boom down the middle, but a series I've worked on lately with one presenter and a number of contributors, all boomed brought me back to the mono mix.... The Cos-11's sound better with a little CS3-e mixed in, so that's what I've been doing, easy for me, easy for the edit!

My CS-3e, was a pain to initially set up in my Rycote Lyres, the handling noise was a lot more noticeable than with my 416 or MKH-60, once I got a set up I was happy with, the noise was better, but the boom still needs a lighter touch than any of my other mics.

I had very similar problems to you Freeheel with a 900r, luckily, being the paranoid sort that I am, I was recording a back up and that day I'd taken delivery of new Lockits, so was using those to test them, so production ended up with a fully timecoded back up for nothing. As for playback checks, if there's time I'll record 30 seconds of speech and listen back to that off the camera, but if the cameraman doesn't give me the time to do that, I trust my equipment and my back up!

They should work fine, you may need to tweak the frequencies a little but I wouldn't bother renting.

Why of course I did. Pedantry, everyones favourite social handicap!

I had two Audio Developments RMS2020s go down due to being placed on sweaty people whilst filming a documentary in Thailand some years ago, since then I take much more care when there's any moisture in the environment. Recently filming a surfing docco in Cornwall, UK I used Aquapacks on my transmitters, which worked very well, and when the surfers were actually in the water, rubber finger stalls (basically tiny condoms) on the mics, which obviously had an impact on sound quality, but still gave good, usable sound.

Jim, Thanks so much, that's all my Lockit questions answered, one to print out and leave in the mixer bag I think. You've really helped me out there, I appreciate it. Jon.

Hey everyone, I need some advice on what setting to use on my lockit boxes when shooting with a Varicam, at 60fps/59.94hz that's all the info I have at the moment, do I need to ask production anything else? I've had the Lockits for a few years, but never worked with a Varicam before, everything but a varicam it seems! The Lockit model number is ACL202CT Thanks in advance for any help. Jon

Thanks for the advice everyone, in the time-honoured tradition of people asking for advice, I ignored all of it and bought a MicroTrack II which was a mistake, it worked fine when I tested it prior to it's first proper use, but then failed to work at all on location, so it's being returned today. That leaves me with a fresh choice to make, I'm leaning towards the edirol of the zoom H4N. Philip, thanks for your comments re the 702, but if you read my original post, I already have a Sound Devices recorder, I'm looking for a smaller, cheaper unit to compliment it.

I spent a while onboard a British Navy nuclear sub, you'll have so many problems with headroom and the fact the radios cut out as soon as direct line of sight is lost that any other problems will seem unremarkable You'll smell to high heaven within your first hour too, all that recirculated air......

Thanks Eric, not a machine I'd considered, can you use the XLRs at line level?

Hey chaps, first post here, I'm a UK based documentary sound recordist, and I need some advice, I need a small, basic 2 track recorder, purely for plugging into PA desks etc, I would rather have balanced line input, but that doesn't seem to be common. I already have a Sound Devices recorder for use in my bag, so I only need something very basic, no timecode or anything fancy. The other thing I don't need is onboard mics, or pitch change or any of the other things the lower end devices (Tascam TR1, Zoom H4N etc) have. Anybody got any particular recommendations or thoughts?